Atlanta, Georgia

Posted by
benchilada
</div> </b></a>Bush says to Congress: "We need more of these here motherfuckers!":




Thoughts?

Edit: I reposted this from his Journal (copy-pastad). I wanted to know what Atlanta people thought about this whole situation and how you think it'll effect us - if at all. Sorry I got a bit hasty with the button pushing guys <3
 

Hi folks,

If you live in the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs area – or Doraville, Chamblee, etc. – please come out for the first Dunwoody Drinking Liberally chapter gathering at the Ye Olde Dunwoody Tavern located at 5488 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd. (off Mount Vernon and Chamblee-Dunwoody and behind the J. Christopher’s restaurant) this coming Wed. evening at 7 p.m. Dale Cardwell, Democratic U.S. Senate runner in 2008 will be there to talk about his campaign so if you’re interested in hearing this WSB TV anchor man talk about what it’s like to run a political campaign, ask him questions about what he’ll bring to the table, or just hang out and have a few pints with us, we welcome one and all!

For more information you can email me at Dunwoody@drinkingliberally.org.

HOPE TO SEE AS MANY PROGRESSIVE THINKERS AS POSSIBLE that live in this area (or otherwise – there’s another Drinking Liberally chapter in Decatur) come out and hang with us! 

Hillary - aka Jellocat

http://www.thetaskforce.org/activist_center/say_no_to_section_2257

"Knowledge is the new economic fuel, not physical labor.  It is the essential ingredient for success in this information age."

- Governor Sonny Perdue

Gee, despite the federal government giving corporate handouts in the form of tax incentives for outsourcing IT jobs overseas, our own enlightened governor believes young people should overlook that fact (and the continued flood of IT jobs sent down the river) and pursue an IT education.   

How stupid does Perdue think young people are these days?

Instead of working on nanowrimo, I decided to work on a non-partisan political post.

First, at the very least take the time to go vote on Tuesday. If you don’t, then don’t complain about the state of the political process and how meaningless you feel voting is. I can’t stress that enough. If you want political change, you need to at least make an effort.

Second, you should ensure that your process and those around you is secure and that there isn’t any forms of fraud or deception occurring.

Third, ensure that your vote counts. Don’t be afraid to ask the person you hand the USB key to (if applicable) what happens next with your vote. If they don’t know, then something is wrong and you should report it.

Fourth, don’t be discouraged by long lines, or the threat of long lines (or someone telling you to come back later, or tomorrow). You should not be refused the right to vote because you don’t have a “Voter ID card”, and if you didn’t get one, it’s too late now. That’s voter fraud right there, because it’s simply not true:

On September 19, 2006, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge issued a Permanent Injunction regarding photo identification requirements.  All previous 17 forms of identification, including the statement of elector used in place of ID listed in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-417, will be acceptable for voting during the November 7, 2006 General Election and General Election Run-off.

All of those wonderful TV commercials from your favorite or not-so-favorite candidates as well as other advertisements and expenses are available from the state ethics commision:

Pursuant to House Bill 48, passed during the 2005 session of the Georgia General Assembly and signed by the Governor, effective January 9, 2006, all campaign contribution disclosure reports, financial disclosure statements, committee registrations, declarations of intent cards, political action committee reports, and choosing the option of separate accounting cards will be filed with the State Ethics Commission.

Now, I hope you’ve done your homework on what your candidate’s stances are on the issues that are important to you. Here is the entire slate, broken up into easy to digest parts:

here
here
here
here
here
here
here

Take the time to click and read each one, and make sure that it applies to you, your county, district, etc. There are links to those who have websites, so you can take a few moments to get their overview for the things that are important to you.

Reflect upon what the incumbents have done over their term. Hold everyone accountable for their actions. Consider each choice as though it matters to you, your family, the people around to you and what you consider the good of the control of power that the person you are voting for.

Don’t be swayed by events occurring at the polling places, and ensure that everything happening there is legal. If you aren’t sure, question. Question more than one.

Make sure your vote counts... and vote. Employers have to allow you the time off to vote, and you can’t be fired for voting. Notify your employer that you will be voting and what time you’ll be going to your polling place. Don’t let your right be discouraged by threats, period... it’s one of the few rights you still actually have.

Decide if you want to talk with the poll watchers, and participate in exit polling. You are not obligated to discuss your party affiliation (if one) (except with official vote rosters) and your vote choices with anyone, regardless of what anyone tells you. Don’t change your vote because you see more of the other parties discussing voting for their candidate outside of the polling place... or more signs, banners, whatnot.

Consider yourself the deciding vote on all slates because you might be.

Thank you for taking time out of your life to research candidates, go down to your polling place and voting.

*** EDIT: Correction to the part above about employees/employers: ***
Georgia law requires employers to grant their workers up to two hours to vote on the day of an election. However, the employer is authorized to specify the hours which an employee may use. This provision does not apply to employees whose hours of work begin at least two hours after the polls open or end at least two hours before the polls close. There is no obligation for an employer to pay the employee for the time taken to vote.



*** EDIT: Addition of link to Ballot Measures in Georgia [Print: 4 page PDF] (includes links to county measures) ***
http://www.vote411.org/candidateinfo.php

http://www.familiesusa.org/issues/private-insurance/enzi/

S. 1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act (HIMMA)  [[ HOW ORWELLIAN ]], was introduced by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) and is slated for a floor vote in the U.S. Senate the week of May 8. This legislation, if enacted, will strip away almost all state-enacted consumer protections for people buying insurance individually or through their employers.

Though the bill’s alleged purpose is to make insurance affordable for small businesses, its reach is far greater than that: States will no longer be able to mandate coverage of benefits, services, or categories of providers for individuals, small groups, or large groups. Premium rating protections, enacted by states to make small group insurance more affordable to older and sicker workers, will be set aside. Insurers will be allowed to sue states that do not comply. The bill sets a ceiling on, but no floor under, what states can do to protect insurance consumers. 

News: The Congressional Budget Office has issued a new report on Enzi: CBO concludes that this terrible bill would raise premiums for one-fourth of businesses in the small group market, and some individuals will find it harder to get coverage for conditions or services that are now mandated under state laws. This wholesale elimination of consumer protections will, at best, trim only 2-3 percent from the premiums of some businesses with young, healthy workers.

How much more screwing over are we going to take?

Enter your zip for phone numbers of your representatives
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir

( Georgia's fearless leaders... )

The Supreme Court heard a case against Calhoun, GA's Mohawk Industries last week which has possible negative implications for employers who hire illegal immigrants.  The case wasn't actually debating whether employers *can* hire undocumented workers, rather whether employers can be sued for using recruiters to seek out and hire such employees.

Mohawk denies hiring the undocumented workers, stating that they have no liability in the matter because they used a recruiter.  The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the relationship between Mohawk and the recruiter represents an enterprise, and thus can be sued.  Mohawk appealed to the Supreme Court in Mohawk Industries v. Williams, 05-465

The case is based around the RICO Act passed in 1970 to fight organized crime.  An amendment to RICO was passed in 1996 to include violations of immigration law. 

Were the Supreme Court to rule that the relationship between Mohawk and their recruiters is not an enterprise, this case would obviously be thrown out and would provide a loophole for corporations to freely hire illegal immigrants.  Many argue that the practice of hiring undocumented workers creates downward pressure on wages and puts American citizens out of work. 

I've found excerpts of three of the Justices opinions on the case, but not an overall decision.    Does anyone familiar with this case know how the Supreme Court ended up defining "enterprise"? 

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=77887

A bill clearing public high schools in Georgia to teach Bible classes is on its way to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature.

The state Senate voted 45-to-2 on Monday to agree to on the measure which allows high schools to create classes on the Old and New Testaments.

State Representative James Mills, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure would withstand a court challenge because it treats the Bible as an educational supplement.

This presents an interesting tactic to get kids to have to carry Bibles to school. The fact that we have enough issues with getting higher Math and Science scores, the kids would now have to endure religious study (oh wait, we aren’t going to allow the Koran, or other religious holy study, are we? Nah, just Christian Bible Study, paid for with your lovely taxes, and sanctioned by the State Goverment with a nod from the religious right leaning administration...)

Why, all of a sudden, would we allow more of a blurring of the line between church and state, than is already happening? Because no one wants to be on the wrong side of the vote when it comes to having to face their constituents on Sunday?

Poll #698230 Immigration
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

What part of “Illegal” do you not understand?

Let me use an example:

I think we should all sneak into Canada and overload their already burdened free medical system because we deserve it, and we should get whatever jobs we can so that Canadians have even higher unemployment... and we should have babies... lots of babies... so we can make sure they are Canadian citizens and make it more ethically difficult to deport us away from our children. While we’re at it, we can make sure to use their free hospitals to birth and care for our children, because we wouldn’t be able to pay for them anyway, because of the only crappy jobs we could get because we weren’t legal immigrants. Just to piss them off even more... we should do this in Quebec, and make sure not to learn or ever speak French, and eventually create English radio and TV stations [pretend they don’t already have ones]. For what crappy jobs we do get, because we don’t speak the language, we will send our money back to our extended family back in the USA, so that the Canadian economy is stagnant and the US one grows. Then we will politicize our horrible situation by claiming to be victims, and demand money and services from the local government or we will do less work... and maybe people will notice... and care. We will also create anglo gangs, and beat up and manipulate the natives, increasing the crime rate and drug traffic, because it’s so much of a pain to prosecute and illegal alien, and the elected officials don’t want to tarnish their reputation as throwing around hate crimes against us.

I’m not doing anything next weekend... anyone else game?